Voice directed system and method configured for assured messaging to multiple recipients

ABSTRACT

A communications system transmits messages via a wireless network to multiple users nearly simultaneously in real-time. Each user has a terminal that receives a message and plays the message for the user. The terminal may also wait for the user to verbally acknowledge the arrival of the message before continuing with its normally executing application. The sender of the message may track, for each intended recipient, the delivery of the message, the accessing of the message by the user, and the acknowledgement by the user that the message was understood.

TECHNICAL FIELD

In a general sense the present invention concerns a wirelessvoice-directed communication method and system having the capability ofsending messages to selected recipients with confirmation that themessage has been received and opened by the selected recipients. Themessaging capability of the system gives the system attributes of asilent public address system wherein only system users whose terminalshave selected addresses hear the message.

BACKGROUND ART

Speech recognition has simplified many tasks in the workplace bypermitting hands-free communication with a computer as a convenientalternative to communication via conventional peripheral input/outputdevices. A worker may enter data by voice using a speech recognizer andcommands or instructions may be communicated to the worker by a speechsynthesizer. Speech recognition finds particular application in mobilecomputing devices in which interaction with the computer by conventionalperipheral input/output devices is restricted.

For example, wireless wearable terminals can provide a worker performingwork-related tasks with desirable computing and data-processingfunctions while offering the worker enhanced mobility within theworkplace. One particular area in which workers rely heavily on suchwireless wearable terminals is inventory management. Inventory-drivenindustries rely on computerized inventory management systems forperforming various diverse tasks, such as food and retail productdistribution, manufacturing, and quality control. An overall integratedmanagement system involves a combination of a central computer systemfor tracking and management, and the people who use and interface withthe computer system in the form of order fillers and other workers. Theworkers handle the manual aspects of the integrated management systemunder the command and control of information transmitted from thecentral computer system to the wireless wearable terminal.

As the workers complete their assigned tasks, a bi-directionalcommunication stream of information is exchanged over a wireless networkbetween wireless wearable terminals and the central computer system.Information received by each wireless wearable terminal from the centralcomputer system is translated into voice instructions or text commandsfor the corresponding worker. Typically, the worker wears a headsetcoupled with the wearable device that has a microphone for voice dataentry and an ear speaker for audio output feedback. Responses from theworker are input into the wireless wearable terminal by the headsetmicrophone and communicated from the wireless wearable terminal to thecentral computer system. Through the headset microphone, workers maypose questions, report the progress in accomplishing their assignedtasks, and report working conditions, such as inventory shortages. Usingsuch wireless wearable terminals, workers may perform assigned tasksvirtually hands-free without equipment to juggle or paperwork to carryaround. Because manual data entry is eliminated or, at the least,reduced, workers can perform their tasks faster, more accurately, andmore productively.

An illustrative example of a set of worker tasks suitable for a wirelesswearable terminal with voice capabilities may involve initiallywelcoming the worker to the computerized inventory management system anddefining a particular task or order, for example, filling a load for aparticular truck scheduled to depart from a warehouse. The worker maythen answer with a particular area (e.g., freezer) that they will beworking in for that order. The system then vocally directs the worker toparticular aisles and bins to pick particular quantities of variousitems. The worker vocally confirms each location and the number ofpicked items. The system may then direct the worker to a loading dock orbay for a particular truck to receive the order. As may be appreciated,the specific communications exchanged between the wireless wearableterminal and the central computer system can be task-specific and highlyvariable.

In addition to the individual communication links to each user, thecapability to forward the same, or a similar, message to a number ofdifferent recipients is also beneficial. However, sending a message tomultiple users, instead of just an individual user, complicates ensuringthat all intended users received the message. Accordingly, there is aneed, unmet by current wireless communication systems to deliver nearreal-time messages to multiple recipients that is accomplished withoutdistracting a user and provides confirmation that the message wasreceived and understood by each of the intended recipients.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and,together with the detailed description of the embodiments given below,serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary environment in which wireless devicesoperate in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary computer platform that supports a systemmanager or server in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary method of sending andtracking messages to multiple wireless recipients in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a wireless communicationsystem that includes a central computer communicating over a wirelessnetwork with a plurality of wireless terminals. The central computer canreceive a message via input devices (e.g., a mouse, a keyboard, etc.)and then transmit the message to selected wireless terminals. At thewireless terminal, the message is converted to an audio signal that isoutput via a speaker. In response, a user can acknowledge receipt andunderstanding of the message by a vocal response that sends a secondacknowledgment back to the central computer. Accordingly, the centralcomputer is able to track delivery of the message to each of theintended recipients.

In a general sense in one aspect the present invention concerns awireless voice-directed silent public address system having a server orcentral computer and a plurality of client terminals that typically areworn by or associated with individual users. The terminals havetext-to-speech conversion capability. The system is configured such thatthe server sends a text message to a predetermined group of usersoperating an associated predetermined group of terminals that haveselected terminal addresses. Only that group of terminals receive thetext message and convert it to speech (such as through earpieces in aheadset). Unlike a typical public address system wherein all persons inthe environment are subjected to the message over loudspeakers, throughthis aspect of the invention the message is heard only by the associatedpredetermined group of users and is silent to all other persons in theenvironment.

An important aspect of the present invention is that the system has thecapability of assuring that the users of the system (herein sometimestermed recipients of the message) actually receive and open the message.(As used herein, the term “open” can mean to initiate an audiblepresentation of the message as through earpieces, or can mean toinitiate a visual presentation as on a terminal display.)

This assurance is provided by the server requiring twoacknowledgements: 1) a first acknowledgement from the terminal that ithas received the message, and 2) an acknowledgement from the terminalthat the user has actually opened the message. The latteracknowledgement may be through a user speaking a special request orinstruction that is parsed by voice recognition software located eitherin the server or the terminal.

A typical system use of the invention is in inventory management,quality control or the like running under a software applicationprogram. In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the applicationprogram may be interrupted when the server receives the acknowledgementthat the message has been received by the terminal. The application isresumed when the server receives the second acknowledgement that themessage has been received and opened by the terminal user. Otherfeatures and benefits of the invention will be described hereinafter.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary environment utilizing wireless headsetsin accordance with principles of the present invention. In use, a numberof pairs of wireless headsets and terminals are used by differentoperators to communicate with a main server. The main server is able tosend messages to a terminal, which relays it to its associated headsetwhere audio output is generated. Speech input is generated at theheadset, transmitted to the terminal and then relayed to the mainserver. The link between the terminals and the main server is typicallya wireless network (e.g. 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, Blue Tooth, etc.), whichallows multiple terminals to share the spectrum. The link between theterminal and the headset is typically a cable or wire. In alternativeembodiments, the headsets and terminals may be coupled together via awireless connection.

The main server 102 is a conventional computer system that can run avariety of applications 130. These applications can relate to thebusiness of maintaining inventory records for a warehouse and caninclude applications that relate to controlling the communications withthe different terminals. These applications are usually integrated withone another to allow voice-controlled operation within the warehouseenvironment. The application that manages the wireless terminalsmaintains information about the identification of each terminal so thatdata can be directed to a desired terminal and information received atthe server can be traced to the sending terminal. In a TCP/IP-basednetwork, for example, the main server 102 would maintain a table of theIP address for each terminal and use these addresses to identify asender or recipient of a particular message.

In the exemplary environment of FIG. 1, the main server 102 is coupledwith one or more access points 104 which are distributed throughout anarea serviced by a wireless network such as 802.11b, for example. One ofordinary skill will recognize that a number of other wireless networktechnologies are currently available for implementation as part of thepresent invention.

Each user within the environment of FIG. 1 includes a wireless terminal106, 108 and an associated headset 107, 109. FIG. 1 shows a first pairedset 114 and a second paired set 116. In accordance with one aspect ofthe invention, a terminal may include a visual display 120, 122 fordisplaying text messages and one or more indicator lights 115, 115 a,117, 117 a, which may be illuminated based on messages received by theterminals 106,108. For example, lights 115, 117 may illuminate for somemessages, while lights 115 a, 117 a might be illuminated for more urgentmessages as discussed below. While only two users are shown in thisfigure, the present invention contemplates dozens of users being presentin the same general location simultaneously. Exemplary headsets aremarketed by the present Assignee as SR-20 Talkman® Lightweight Headsetand exemplary terminals are marketed by the present Assignee Talkman®T2. Other headsets and terminals having similar capabilities arecontemplated within the scope of the present invention as well.

To aid in monitoring the devices 114, 116, the main server 102 maymaintain information 112 about which user is using what wireless deviceas well as address information 132 that associates a network address(e.g., an IP address) with a particular device, and, therefore with aparticular user.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary hardware and software environment forthe server or computer 200 suitable for implementing a main server thatprovides for sending messages to multiple terminals consistent with theinvention. For the purposes of the invention, the computer 200 mayrepresent practically any type of computer, computer system or otherprogrammable electronic device, including a client computer, a servercomputer, a portable computer, a handheld computer, an embeddedcontroller, etc. Moreover, the computer 200 may be implemented using oneor more networked computers, e.g., in a cluster or other distributedcomputing system.

Computer 200 typically includes at least one processor 212 coupled to amemory 214. Processor 212 may represent one or more processors (e.g.,microprocessors), and memory 214 may represent the random access memory(RAM) devices comprising the main storage of computer 200, as well asany supplemental levels of memory, e.g., cache memories, non-volatile orbackup memories (e.g., programmable or flash memories), read-onlymemories, etc. In addition, memory 214 may be considered to includememory storage physically located elsewhere in computer 200, e.g., anycache memory in a processor 212, as well as any storage capacity used asa virtual memory, e.g., as stored on a mass storage device 216 or onanother computer or device coupled to computer 200 via the Internet 218or some other network (not shown).

Computer 200 also typically receives a number of inputs and outputs forcommunicating information externally. For interface with a user oroperator, computer 200 typically includes one or more user input devices222 (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a joystick, a touchpad,and/or a microphone, among others) and a display 224 (e.g., a CRTmonitor, an LCD display panel, and/or a speaker, among others).Otherwise, user input may be received via a workstation 201 used byremote personnel to access the computer 200 via the network 218, or viaa dedicated workstation interface or the like.

For additional storage, computer 200 may also include one or more massstorage devices 216, e.g., a floppy or other removable disk drive, ahard disk drive, a direct access storage device (DASD), an optical drive(e.g., a CD drive, a DVD drive, etc.), and/or a tape drive, amongothers. Furthermore, computer 200 may include an interface with one ormore networks 218 (e.g., a LAN, a WAN, a wireless network, and/or theInternet, among others) to permit the communication of information withother computers and devices coupled to the network. It should beappreciated that computer 200 typically includes suitable analog and/ordigital interfaces between processor 212 and each of components 214,216, 218, 222 and 224 as is well known in the art.

Computer 200 operates under the control of an operating system 230, andexecutes or otherwise relies upon various computer software applications232, components, programs, objects, modules, data structures, etc.(e.g., database 234, among others). Moreover, various applications,components, programs, objects, modules, etc. may also execute on one ormore processors in another computer coupled to computer 200 via anothernetwork, e.g., in a distributed or client-server computing environment,whereby the processing required to implement the functions of a computerprogram may be allocated to multiple computers over the network.

Other hardware components may be incorporated into system 200, as mayother software applications. In general, the routines executed toimplement the embodiments of the invention, whether implemented as partof an operating system or a specific application, component, program,object, module or sequence of instructions, or even a subset thereof,will be referred to herein as “computer program code”, or simply“program code.” Program code typically comprises one or moreinstructions that are resident at various times in various memory andstorage devices in a computer, and that, when read and executed by oneor more processors in a computer, cause that computer to perform thesteps necessary to execute steps or elements embodying the variousaspects of the invention. Moreover, while the invention has andhereinafter will be described in the context of fully functioningcomputers and computer systems, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the various embodiments of the invention are capable of beingdistributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that theinvention applies equally regardless of the particular type of signalbearing media used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples ofsignal bearing media include but are not limited to recordable typemedia such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices, floppy and otherremovable disks, hard disk drives, magnetic tape, optical disks (e.g.,CD-ROM's, DVD's, etc.), among others, and transmission type media suchas digital and analog communication links.

In addition, various program code described hereinafter may beidentified based upon the application within which it is implemented ina specific embodiment of the invention. However, it should beappreciated that any particular program nomenclature that follows isused merely for convenience, and thus the invention should not belimited to use solely in any specific application identified and/orimplied by such nomenclature. Furthermore, given the typically endlessnumber of manners in which computer programs may be organized intoroutines, procedures, methods, modules, objects, and the like, as wellas the various manners in which program functionality may be allocatedamong various software layers that are resident within a typicalcomputer (e.g., operating systems, libraries, API's, applications,applets, etc.), it should be appreciated that the invention is notlimited to the specific organization and allocation of programfunctionality described herein. Those skilled in the art will recognizethat the exemplary environment illustrated in FIG. 2 is not intended tolimit the present invention. Indeed, those skilled in the art willrecognize that other alternative hardware and/or software environmentsmay be used without departing from the scope of the invention.

One particular software application that resides on the server is amessaging application that allows a user to enter a message, such as viaa keyboard, select one or more recipients to receive the message, sendthe message to the recipients, and track responses from the recipients.The flowchart of FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary method that can beimplemented in such a software application.

In step 302, a sender can input the message body to the softwareapplication. One exemplary method of data entry involves typing in atext message via a keyboard or similar device. Alternatively, themessage could be spoken and converted from speech to text or to someother electronic format, such as digitized speech, in preparation fordelivery. Additionally, a number of pre-defined message templates mayexist from which a sender could select one to send to a group of users.

In step 304, the sender identifies which users are to receive themessage, or alternatively, identifies which users to exclude fromreceiving the message. Similar to composing e-mail messages inconventional e-mail programs, identifying the recipients and buildingthe body of the message can take place in either order, or evenconcurrently. While a sender could type in the name of each recipient,the present invention advantageously contemplates using address groupsor address books to simplify identifying the group of one or morerecipients of the message. The address book can be organized bysupervisor, by functional work units, by alphabet, and by a variety ofother schema as would be recognized by one of ordinary skill.

In step 306, the software application converts the selected recipientnames to appropriate network addresses. As previously mentioned, theserver typically maintains a table of network addresses for eachterminal it can communicate with. For example, as part of activating awireless terminal, the server and terminal may exchange initial messagesto establish a viable communications link. This exchanged informationfrom each terminal can be maintained in a table or other format by theserver. In addition, the server will maintain a mapping between aterminal's address and a user's name. This mapping may be static if thesame terminal is always assigned to the same user. Alternatively, themapping can be dynamically created when a user is given a terminal atthe beginning of a work period or if a user must replace a faultyterminal during a work period. Using this mapping information, theserver can identify which network devices correspond to the list ofrecipients selected by the sender.

Thus, in step 308, the server sends a copy of the message to each of theselected recipients as soon as the sender completes selecting therecipients and composing the message. In a TCP/IP network, for example,a delivery protocol can be used such that, in step 310, the terminalsends back an acknowledge message to inform the server that the terminalcorrectly received the message. If no acknowledgement message isreceived by the server in a predetermined timeframe, then the server mayattempt to re-send the message a number of times. If a terminal isturned off or is out-of-range, then delivery might not be possible. If,after a certain number of re-tries, an acknowledgement message is notreceived, then the message may be stored in a queue for later delivery.In such an instance, when that terminal once again establishescommunication with the server over the wireless network, the server cansend any undelivered messages in the queue. As is known in the art, eachmessage may be assigned an “active” time window such that if the messageis unable to be delivered during that time period, then it is deletedfrom the queue. Thus, a message about a meeting at 9:30 AM can bedeleted from the queue instead of delivering it after the meeting isover.

Delivery of the message to the terminal, however, does not ensure that auser listened to and understood the message. Accordingly, theapplication running on the wireless terminal is configured to track howa user responds to the message. In particular, the software applicationexecuting on the terminal usually involves following a workflow sequenceor application in conjunction with the activity of the user. Forexample, the user may be guided to a particular location in a warehouse,guided to a particular bin, and instructed to pick a particular quantityof a particular item. The user may provide confirmation information andcheck-digits throughout this process to ensure the right items werepicked and to allow inventory records to be updated.

In response to receiving a message from the server, the softwareapplication interrupts the workflow process, in step 312, with anaudible alarm or visual indicator such as an audible beep, an audiblealert message, a flashing light or indicator, a vibrational mechanism,or a combination thereof. The terminals are configured to provide suchvisible indicator, audible alarms (e.g. through the headset) orvibrational alerts. For example, indicator lights 115, 117 might beused, or displays 120, 122 might also be used for sending an alert. Or,terminals 114, 116 might vibrate. The user may be performing someworkflow activity, like backing-up a forklift, or filling a rush order,that should not be interrupted. In response to the alarm, and completingany imminent task, the user can reply such as to verbally acknowledgethe receipt of the message, in step 314, by speaking an appropriatecommand or speech message such as, for example, “OK” or “Proceed”. Inaddition to indicating readiness to receive the message by saying “OK”or “Proceed”, the user may provide other responses as well. For example,the user may respond with “Reject”, or a similar command, in order toignore the messages or to request the server not to send the messagesand continue with the task at hand.

In one particular example, a “delay” command can be used to delay themessage for a brief period of time. The user may respond with “wait for10”. In response, the terminal captures and recognizes the command andwaits 10 minutes before re-alerting the user of the message. If adefault delay period is defined, then a user may simply respond with“wait”. In addition to this particular example, the present inventioncontemplates a variety of user commands and voice recognition of thosecommands. For example, a message can be redirected to another party orterminal, stored in memory, or otherwise manipulated by an appropriatecommand.

Speech recognition capability can be included within the terminalsufficient to recognize the user's commands or the speech data can beelectronically captured and forwarded by the terminal to the server forprocessing. The result, in the latter example, would be that the server,not the terminal, determines what was spoken by the user and issuesinstructions to the terminal accordingly.

In step 316, the software application responds to the user's “OK”command by opening and/or playing the message. The message might beopened and played by imitating an audible reproduction of the message asaudio output. Alternatively, the message might be presented on therespective display 120, 122. In this way, a text message can bedelivered as audio or text to one or more users in nearly real-time. Inresponse to some other command, the software application will operate inan appropriate manner. In certain embodiments of the present invention,the software application of the terminal may send a secondacknowledgement message to the server indicating how the message washandled by the user. The second acknowledgement message may indicate themessage was accessed, rejected, delayed, or handled in some other way.

In another case, the additional acknowledgements may acknowledge thatthe user understood the received message. In response to listening tothe audio-formatted message, the user may speak additional commandsrelated to the message, in step 318. For example, the user may say“understood” or “received”, or the user may ask for the message to berepeated. In response to receiving an unrecognized command, the terminalsoftware may simply replay the message or produce an output indicatingthat the last command was not understood. Alternatively, an unrecognizedcommand may simply be ignored, with no response until a recognizablecommand is spoken.

If speech recognition is performed by the terminal, then the server canreceive a message or acknowledgement from the terminal that the userverbally acknowledged understanding the message. If speech recognitionis performed at the server, then the server analyzes the speech datareceived from the terminal to determine if that speech acknowledgesunderstanding of the message by the user. Once it is determined, in step320 that the user has verbally acknowledged understanding the message,then the terminal software may proceed, in step 322, with the workflowprocess or application that the message interrupted. Until suchacknowledgement is received, the terminal software may remaininterrupted and wait for the user to acknowledge the message.Alternatively, if the user has purposely ignored or delayed the message,then the terminal software may proceed with the current workflowprocess.

The present invention may be utilized to improve time efficiency forworkers, and to also provide an overall management and supervision forworkers, such as order pickers, apart from the specific tasks associatedwith their current workflow process. Furthermore, the invention providesthe ability to handle emergencies, such as one or more impendingdangerous situations, which might be encountered by a worker, and alsoto alert various workers to medical emergencies of their otherco-workers, for example.

With the invention, workers can receive priority action reminders,informational messages and emergency messages that are important or evencritical. In one example, one or more pickers, in addition to pickingitems to fill a particular order, may also be needed to unload shippeditems from a truck for shipment delivered to the warehouse. For such atask, they may need to be at the dock at a certain time for unloading.Since a number of pickers often do not wear a watch because it might becaught on something in the warehouse, they may not be particularly goodat keeping track of time. Or, they simply might need to be reminded intheir hectic day of filling orders. In accordance with the invention, areminder message might be issued to a group of workers, which are to beused for unloading and delivery. To that end, a message would be sentand an indicator light 115, 117 illuminated to provide an alert for thereminder. As noted above, other alerts, such as audible beeps,vibrations or text messages on a display 120, 122 might also beutilized. Then, a worker may acknowledge receipt of the message so thatan audible reproduction of the message can occur to remind the worker tobe at a certain dock at a certain time for unloading. This enhances theefficiency of not only order filling but also overall inventorymanagement.

Similarly, the present invention might be utilized to provide aninformational message or reminder to all pickers that inventory processfor the warehouse, or a section of the warehouse is going to occur onthat day, and that orders are therefore not to be picked that day.Initially, such information may have been given to the pickers in ameeting, but the present invention might be utilized additionally as areminder. Similarly, a reminder that a group meeting for the pickers isto be held might also be sent to selected workers in a group to reduceand eliminate inefficiencies caused by workers who have forgotten themeeting or are somewhere else in the warehouse. The acknowledgementschemes and the audit trail provided by the present invention allowsupervisors to confirm that certain workers have received the message,and should therefore be in attendance at the meeting. This eliminates anecessity to hunt for an employee who is not at the meeting.

In another aspect of the present invention, informational messages areprovided which enhance the actual workflow process. For such messages,it may be desirable to actually interrupt the workflow process. Forexample, the picker may find that an item to be picked is not currentlyat a particular bin or slot or on a shelf. At the time the order isbeing picked, the item will be “out” and therefore the picker willindicate to the system that the item is “out of stock.” However, thatitem might actually be available in the warehouse, such as in a recentdelivery, and thus may be restocked before days end. Accordingly, thepicker might be alerted, such as through an indicator light 115, 117 orother audio or visual indicator that certain items to be picked are notin stock in the morning but will be later on in the afternoon. As such,the picking of orders calling for such items should wait until later inthe day. This enhances efficiency in the picking process, and eliminatesdelay associated with informing a customer that an item is out of stockand having to repick part of the order later.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention in addition to theinformational messages and priority action reminders noted above, suchas those regarding a meeting or specific tasks, for example, the presentinvention also provides first responder messages to workers and terminalusers to handle emergency tasks. For example, a message might beprovided to the terminal wherein the message is associated with aweather emergency, workplace emergency, medical emergency, or otheremergency, which requires immediate response. The terminals 114, 116 mayutilize separate audible or visual indication, such as separateindicator lights 115 a, 117 a, that are reserved only for such higherpriority messages or “first responder” messages. Therefore, the presentinvention may use varying types of messages and will differentiatebetween them and provide different alerts or alarms. Usually, medical,weather or other emergencies will take precedence over other meetingreminders and the like.

In one example, a weather emergency, such as a storm or tornado warning,might be sent to the terminals in the form of a message. Warehouses canbe windowless and are often very noisy, and thus the traditional publicaddress system might not sufficiently handle the situation. In such aweather emergency, the present invention may be utilized as a “silent”PA system to first alert a user, receive acknowledgement, and then playthe message so that the user knows what to do in the case of such anemergency. Each terminal user will hear their own message. For example,the user might be ordered to report to a particular area in thewarehouse. Similarly, for a workplace emergency, such as a collapse of astructure, a spilled substance, or other event, the present inventionmay be utilized to inform the users so that they can avoid the area. Asnoted, separate indicator lights 115 a, 117 a or other separate alertmight be utilized to indicate that the emergency is one of highpriority. Of course, an audio alert provided at the terminal might alsoindicate that an emergency has occurred and that an emergency messagemust be accessed immediately and responded to.

The present invention can be particularly useful in a situation of afirst responder alert, wherein a medical emergency, such as involvinganother co-worker, requires the assistance of one of the workers in awarehouse. For example, the message may indicate that an employee inaisle 6, bin 10 is having a medical emergency and may need assistance.The terminal user, upon being presented with the first responder alert,would then immediately listen to the message and respond accordingly tothe person in need of medical or other help.

Such examples as noted above are only some of the examples wherein thepresent invention might be efficiently utilized. Therefore, suchexamples are not meant to be limiting in any way with respect to theinvention.

The present invention provides auditing and tracking advantages as well.In step 324, the server tracks the status of the message delivery toeach of the recipients. Based on the exchange of messages andacknowledgements, the server can include a graphical user interface thatdisplays the message status. For example, the user interface may includea drop-down menu that permits a sender to select a previously sentmessage. In response to a message being selected, the server retrievesthe appropriate address list and for each recipient can display whetherthe respective terminal received the message, whether the message wasoutputted for the user, and whether the user acknowledged understandingthe message. This information can also include time stamps of thedifferent events as well as link to the actual voice data captured froma user regarding the message and stored in computer-accessible memory.

In this manner, an audit trail is created that shows when and if a userreceived the message. Furthermore, the audit trail permits tracking ofwhether the user understood and acknowledged understanding the message.By viewing the user interface, the sender can quickly identify usersthat may need to be located because they did not receive the message, ordetermine if alternate means of message delivery should be used, ordecide if further clarification of the original message is needed.

Thus a communications system has been described that transmits messagesvia a wireless network to multiple users nearly simultaneously inreal-time. Each user has a terminal, which receives a message and playsthe message for the user. The terminal may also wait for the user toverbally acknowledge the arrival of the message before continuing withits normally executing application. The sender of the message may track,for each intended recipient, the delivery of the message, the accessingof the message by the user, and the acknowledgement by the user that themessage was understood.

While the present invention has been illustrated by a description ofvarious embodiments and while these embodiments have been described inconsiderable detail, it is not the intention of the applicants torestrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to suchdetail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear tothose skilled in the art. Thus, the invention in its broader aspects istherefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatusand method, and illustrative example shown and described. Accordingly,departures may be made from such details without departing from thespirit or scope of applicants' general inventive concept.

1. A method for sending a message to a set of selected operatorsperforming logistical operations at a warehouse, the method comprisingthe steps of: executing a logistical application on at least onewireless terminal that is communicating with a server over a wirelessnetwork within the warehouse; receiving at the at least one wirelessterminal a textual message transmitted from the server; outputting thereceived textual message as audio output with a speaker that is incommunication with the at least one wireless terminal; receiving averbal indication from an operator of the wireless terminal that thetextual message audio output was at least one of accessed or understoodby the operator; and transmitting an acknowledgement message to theserver from the terminal that the verbal indication was received fromthe operator.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:announcing to the operator that the textual message was received fromthe server; and delaying outputting of the received textual message asaudio input until receiving a verbal instruction from the operator. 3.The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of: interrupting thelogistical application after receiving the verbal instruction; andresuming the logistical application after receiving the verbalindication.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:performing speech recognition on the verbal indication to determinewhether the operator at least one of accessed or understood the audiooutput.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the acknowledgement messageincludes a timestamp.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising thestep of: automatically transmitting an acknowledgement message when thetextual message is successfully received at the at least one wirelessterminal.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the message is associatedwith one of an event reminder, or an emergency message for the terminaloperator.
 8. The method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving, at aserver, a textual message to be forwarded to the at least one wirelessterminal; transmitting the textual message to the at least one wirelessterminal; transmitting from the at least one wireless terminal, to theserver, an acknowledgement message that the textual message was receivedat the at least one wireless terminal.
 9. The method of claim 8 furtherwherein the transmitted textual message includes a time window defininga time for the message received at the at least one wireless terminal.10. The method of claim 8 further comprising maintaining a record at theserver regarding the acknowledgement messages that the textual messagewas received at particular wireless terminals.
 11. The method of claim10 further comprising tracking from the record which terminals receivedthe textual message.
 12. The method of claim 1 further comprisingmaintaining a record at the server regarding the acknowledgementmessages from a particular operator.
 13. The method of claim 12 furthercomprising tracking from the record which operators at least one ofaccessed or understood the textual message.
 14. The method of claim 1wherein the set of selected operators includes one operator.
 15. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the set of selected operators includes morethan one operator.
 16. The method of claim 1 further comprising: uponreceiving the textual message, generating an alarm to alert the operatorof its receipt.
 17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:receiving, at the terminal, a verbal command from the operator regardinghow to handle the received textual message; and handling the textualmessage according to the verbal command.
 18. The method of claim 17further comprising: wherein the handling of the textual message includesat least one of: playing the message, discarding the message, ignoringthe message, delay playing of the message, and re-directing the message.19. A method for delivering a message in a speech-enabled workenvironment that includes a plurality of users with terminal devicesthat perform applications using speech, the method comprising the stepsof: executing at least one application, using user speech and speechrecognition, through a terminal device that is communicating with acommunications network; receiving the message, at the terminal device ofa user, over the communications network; outputting the message as audiooutput to the user of the terminal device; receiving verbal confirmationspoken by the user that the audio output was at least one of accessed orunderstood; and transmitting an acknowledgement message from theterminal device over the communications network, the acknowledgementmessage being reflective of the receipt of the spoken verbalconfirmation for indicating that the audio output was at least one ofaccessed or understood by the user.
 20. The method of claim 19, whereinthe message is delivered to a plurality of different users.
 21. Themethod of claim 19, wherein the communications network is a wirelessnetwork.
 22. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of outputting themessage further includes the steps of: indicating that the message hasbeen received; delaying outputting of the message as audio output untilreceiving a verbal command; and receiving the verbal command to play themessage.
 23. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of: inresponse to receiving the message, sending an acknowledgement messageover the network indicating that the message was successfully receivedat the terminal device.
 24. The method of claim 19, further comprisingthe step of: converting the message from text format to audio output.25. The method of claim 19, further comprising the steps of: receiving averbal instruction from the user to replay the message; and in response,replaying the message as audio output.
 26. A method for delivering amessage in a speech-enabled work environment that includes a pluralityof users with terminal devices that perform applications using speech,the method comprising the steps of: executing at least one application,using user speech, through a terminal device that is communicating witha communications network; receiving the message, at the terminal deviceof a user, over the communications network; outputting the message asaudio output to the user, by indicating that the message has beenreceived, delaying outputting of the message as audio output untilreceiving a verbal command and receiving the verbal command to play themessage; interrupting an executing application when the verbal commandis received; and receiving verbal confirmation from the user that theaudio output was at least one of accessed or understood; resuming theexecuting application when the verbal confirmation is received;transmitting an acknowledgement message from the terminal device overthe communications network, the acknowledgement message indicating thatthe audio output was at least one of accessed or understood by the user.27. A multi-recipient communications system for facilitatingspeech-enabled work among a plurality of users comprising: a serverconfigured to transmit a message to multiple users; a plurality ofterminal devices associated with the users and configured for use withspeech recognition applications, each terminal device configured toreceive the message; a wireless network configured to providebi-directional communication between the server and the plurality ofuser terminal devices for the user to execute at least one application;and each of the terminal devices further configured to output themessage as audio output to the respective user, receive a respectiveverbal confirmation spoken by the user that the audio output was atleast one of accessed or understood, and transmit, to the server, arespective indication that reflects that the spoken verbal confirmationwas received from the user.
 28. The system of claim 27, wherein theserver is further configured to: receive the message as input; receivean identification of each of the multiple users; identify a respectiveterminal device associated with each of the multiple users, and addressa respective copy of the message for delivery to each of the respectiveterminal devices.
 29. The system of claim 27, wherein each of theterminal devices is further configured to: convert the message to audiooutput from text format; and play the message as audio output.
 30. Thesystem of claim 27, wherein each of the terminal devices is furtherconfigured to transmit a respective acknowledgement message indicatingthat the message was successfully received by the terminal device. 31.The system of claim 30, wherein the server is further configured to:determine for each of the terminal devices whether a respectiveindication of verbal confirmation has been received; determine for eachof the terminal devices whether a respective acknowledgement message hasbeen received; and display a respective message status for each of theterminal devices indicating whether the message was at least one ofreceived or understood.
 32. A multi-recipient communications system forfacilitating speech-enabled work among a plurality of users comprising:a server configured to transmit a message to multiple users; a pluralityof terminal devices associated with the users, each terminal deviceconfigured to receive the message; a wireless network configured toprovide bi-directional communication between the server and theplurality of user terminal devices for the user to execute at least oneapplication; and each of the terminal devices further configured to:output the message as audio output to the respective user; receive arespective verbal confirmation from the user regarding whether the audiooutput was at least one of accessed or understood; perform speechrecognition on the verbal confirmation from the user to determine if theverbal confirmation indicates the audio output was at least one ofaccessed or understood; re-output the message as audio output to therespective user if the verbal confirmation does not indicate that themessage was understood; transmit, to the server, a respective indicationthat the verbal confirmation was received from the user.
 33. Amulti-recipient communications system for facilitating speech-enabledwork among a plurality of users comprising: a server configured totransmit a message to multiple users; a plurality of terminal devicesassociated with the users, each terminal device configured to receivethe message and to transmit a respective acknowledgement messageindicating that the message was successfully received by the terminaldevice; a wireless network configured to provide bi-directionalcommunication between the server and the plurality of user terminaldevices for the user to execute at least one application, includingexecuting a logistical application within a warehouse environment; eachof the terminal devices further configured to output the message asaudio output to the respective user, receive a respective verbalconfirmation from the user that the audio output was at least one ofaccessed or understood, and transmit, to the server, a respectiveindication that the verbal confirmation was received from the user; theterminal devices further configured to interrupt the logisticalapplication after outputting the audio output; and resume the logisticalapplication after receiving the verbal confirmation.